Toy structure



June l11, 1940. DI M, WARREN V2,204,264

TDY STRUCTURE Fedxx-'em 19, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 1 June l l, 1940.

D. M. WARREN 2,204,264

Toy STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 19, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 11,1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY STRUCTURE Donald M. Warren, La.Fayette, Ind.

Application February 19, 1938, Serial No. 191,422

9 claims. (c1. 1s-21) flat condition and which is folded and applied toThis invention relates to improvements in a toy structure and moreparticularly to improvements in the construction of such toys aspaperboard doll houses and other forms of toy buildings. The inventionalso contemplates improvements adaptable to the construction of toyarticles which represent vonly a single room.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a structure which maybe sold in a collapsed condition and which may be easily and quickly setup into a house or room by a young child; to provide a structure which,when set up, is rigid and will remain in set-up condition and the partsof which will not fall apart incident to the reasonable handling of `thestructure; and to provide a structure which may be collapsed to aflattened condition in `which it may be conveniently and practicablypackaged in an envelope instead of the usual, more expensive, box.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a structure whereinvarious connecting elements employed may be substantially concealedtherebyV to improve the appearance of the structure; to provide astructure which may be made economically and at low cost so as to beadapted to be retailed at relatively low prices; and in general it isthe object of the invention to provide an improved toy structure of theclass described'.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specication and accompanying drawings whereinthere is illustrate-d a toy structure embodying a selected form of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective illustrating a setup doll house embodying apreferred form of the invention.

Figure 2 isV a. fragmentary perspective illustrating some of the detailsof the construction employed in the doll house shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective View illustrating therelationship of certain parts of the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan of a portion of a base member showingcertain details of the construction. v

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a plan section illustrating one arrangement for concealingcertain connections shown in the structure of Figure l.

Figures 7 and 8 are fragmentary front and side views of the elementsshown in Figure 6, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan of a blankin the corner construction toform the concealed arrangement `shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8.

This application is in part a continuation of my pending applicationSerial No. 135,358.

Referring now to the drawings:

The structure shown in Figures lrto 5, inclusive, embodies a base memberI5 which is preferably formed of paperboard and of such thickness aswill afford the desired stiffness and strength. The base member, when incollapsed condition, is a flat sheet equipped with scores or creasesconstituting fold lines such as indicated at 16 in Figure 4, whichpermit the bending of marginal portions of the base member to downwardlyfolded position, in which they constitute iianges II-IL As shown inFigure 1, the structure embodies a main house portion I8 and anauxiliary portion IB which in this instance is shown as in the form of abay window or sunporch.

The walls of the house herein shown comprise an end wall 20, front wallmembers 2l vand 22, an end wall member 23, an end wall member 24, andthere are roof members, for the main e house structure and 26 for thebay window.

The Walls may be connected to the base or iioor I5 through the agency oftongues such as indicated at 2'I, Which project from the edges of thefloor part I5. As best shown in Figure 3, the "r tongues 2'I are cut outof the adjacent ilangeforming portions II and it is preferable that thenormal stiffness of the floor member I5 be maintained in said tonguesand in the connection between said tongues and the iloor member proper,Wherefore the fold lines I6 are preferably Omitted across the width ofthe tongues. Hence when the flange portions I'I are bent downwardly thetongue elements 21 will remain in their co-planer relation to the i'loorpart I5. The Wall parts are provided with openings such as indicated at28 (Figure 3) for engaging said tongues 2I, said tongues and openingspreferably being of the type shown in my Patent No. 1,984,666. Suchtongues eiect a sort of snap locking action which eiectively retains theparts in connected relation but permits separation when desired. v

The walls may be connected to each other through similar tongue andopening connections such as shown at 28St and the roof elements 25 and26 may also be attached by such tongue and opening connections to theadjacent edge portions of the walls on which the respective roofportions rest.

` tending position against the end edges 2I.

When a base is formed as above explained, i. e., by bending downintegrally marginal portions to form the depending flanges, there willnormally remain suflicient resiliency in the paperboard stock to urgethe flange portions to return to their unfolded or atwise positionrelative to the main oor portion I5. Such tendency is, of course,resisted by the surrounding walls but it is preferable that additionalmeans be provided for resisting such tendency. For that purpose, certainof the depending flanges, in this instance the front and rear flangesmarked I'I-a and H b, are provided with end extensions marked II-e andadjacent their ends said flanges are provided with openings such asindicated at 29.

The openings 29 in the front and rear flanges are adapted to receivetongues 30 which project from the adjacent ends of the end flangemembers such as indicated at I'I-c in Figures 3 and 4. It will be seenthat when the end flanges such as I 'I-c are folded downwardly, thefront and rear flanges I'I-a. and II-b,-respectively, may be foldeddownwardly so as to cause the openings 29 therein to t over therespective end tongues 30 to cooperate therewith to lock said floor andrear flanges in their downwardly ex- The described connection alsoobviously serves to prevent the end flanges from unfolding.

Where such end extensions as II-e would be conspicuous, asfor example atthe rear of the structure such as shown in Figure 1, such end extensionsmay advantageously be enlarged and shaped and printed or lithographed torepresent any suitable object or ornamentation, for example a shrub suchas indicated at 32.

In order to increase the rigidity of the structure, it is desirable toprovide additional connections between the various parts for preventingbuckling of the different elements and separation thereof. As shownherein, one such additional connection may consist in the provision of atongue such as indicated at 33-33 on the front edges of the end walls 2Dand 23. Such tongues, in this instance, are only about one-half thewidth of the other tongues shown and they are so located that theirbottom edges engage the top edge portions 34 of the flange extensionsI'I-e (see Figure 3). The front walls 2l and 22 are provided withsuitable openings such as indicated at 35 for receiving the tongues 33,as clearly shown in Figures land 2. It will be observed that the tongue33 serves the purpose of supplementing a connection between the tongues30 and respective front wall portions 2| and 23.

A tongue 3B (similar to the tongues 33) is provided on the inwardlyfacing edge 3'I of a front wall part 2I-a which extends inwardly fromthe front wall part 2| and abuts the outside of the front wall part 22.The latter front wall part is provided with a suitable opening indicatedat 38 for receiving said tongue 36. The relationship of the tongue 36and the opening 38 is such that the upper edge of the tongue will lockin the opening 38 and such that the lower edge of the tongue, hereinshown to be straight, will bear on the top of the floor member I5 toprevent the latter from rising or warping upwardly.

For additionally holding the front wall member 22 in assembled relationto the base, the latter is provided with a notch such as indicated at 39substantially in continuation of the edge of the base element againstwhich the wall element 22 is positioned. The inner end 40 of said wallelement 22 is extended suciently beyond the front wall part 2I-a toproject into said notch and if desired said end portion 4D may be stillfurther extended and provided with a notch indicated at 4I for embracingportions of the floor member I5. It will be observed that the entranceof the wall portion 22 into the notch 39 will serve the purpose ofpreventing the wall 22 from buckling away from the edge of the base andthat the entrance of a portion of the Wall I5 into a notch such as 4I inthe wall will serve to position the floor effectively.

In some instances toy structures such as herein shown are left open topermit access to the interior of the structure for the arrangement oftoy furniture, et cetera, within the house. In some such cases the endwalls areprovided with extensions adapted to fold inwardly over the endportions of the rear flange I'I to hold it in downwardly foldedposition. In the present instance the structure is illustrated as beingfree of any such inwardly extending back wall form-'- ing portions,thereby providing freer access to the interior of the structure. Tosupplement the tongue opening connections 30-29, which holds the endback flanges II-c and I'I-bI in their depending position, the end wallsare extended at their rear edges soas to permit the provision of a notchsuch as indicated at 42 which is adapted to receive the thickness of theend lextension I'I-e of the rear flange I 'L -b. As best shown inFigures 3 and 4, the said end extension I 'I-e may also be provided withnotches such as indicated at 43 adapted to receive the thickness of theend walls such as 23, thereby to lock thelatter more effectively againstthe end flanges I'I-c.

As shown in Figures 4, the provision of a tongue and opening connection29 and 30 between the flange portions IT-b and l'I-c requires the em- Y'ployment of some of the paperboard stock which would otherwise be cutaway in forming the base unit. Hence, if an ornamental representa? tionsuch as 32 is tobe provided, it will either have to be of a very smallobject which can be made of the material located in the cornerimmediately beyond the end of the tongue 30 or it will have to be madeby employing some material beyond the normal edges of the blank requiredfor forming the base structure.

For concealing the connections between various parts, diierentexpedients may be resorted to. By way of example there is shown inFigures 6 to 9, inclusive, one arrangement for concealing theconnections between the ends of adjacent walls such as the walls 20 and2 I. When the connections are to be concealed, it is preferable that theopenings, such as indicated at 44 (Figures 6 and 7) which receive thetongues such as at 54 be so located that they are outward of the tongueswhen the parts are connected. The opening 44 and the tongue 54 inFigures 6 and 7 correspond respectively to the openings in the wall 2land the tongues which enter said openings from the front edgeof the endwall 20 to form, in Figure 2, the tongue and opening connection 28a. Acorner concealingI member 45 is suitably scored or creased to providefold lines such as indicated at 46 to permit the member to be folded tothe substantially tubular corner post forms shown in Figures 6 to 8. Inapplying the member 45, one marginal portion 41 is equipped withsuitable openings such as indicated at 48 to t the tongues 54 and saidmarginal portion is rst locked or buttoned onthe tongues 54, saidmarginal portion overlying the end portion of the front wall2| beyond oroutwardly of the tongues 54. The member 45 is then bent forwardly tocause a portion 49 thereof to eX- tend forwardly inside of the tongues54, a portion 5 is bent to extend outwardly in parallel relation to thefront wall 2|, a portion 5| is bent to extend rearwardly in parallelrelation to the end wall 20, and the other marginal portion 52 is bentto extend inwardly in parallel relation to the front wall 2| and incontact with the rear side of the end portion thereof as clearly shownin Figure 6. Tongues such as indicated at 53 are provided on the edge ofthe portion 52 and are adapted to be bent and inserted into the openings44 and 48. The cornerconcealing v member 45 may be applied after thehouse structure is erected in its entirety but it does not interferewith the disassembling of the house which may be effected in theusualmanner merely by pulling the part, such as end wall 20, away fromthe front wall 2|, whereupon the tongues 53 of the corner concealingmember will be loose in the openings 44 and 48, and be readily removabletherefrom.

It will be apparent that the corner concealing element 45 may be made ofrelatively thin stock since it need not withstand any material stressesor strains.

Similar concealing means may also be employed for concealing theconnections between they floor member I5 and the side walls, suchconcealing means being in effect substantially represented by Figure 6if the member 20 represented the floor and the member 2| an upstandingside Wall.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the bay window structure comprises anend wall portion 24 constituting a separate element suitably connectedto the adjacent parts of the structure and front and back wall portions54 and 55, which are made integral with the end wall 23 and adapted tobe folded outwardly along suitable fold lines such as 5S. Suitable slitsare provided for permitting such front and back wall portions to befolded outwardly as indicated.

In the structure disclosed, the floor for the bay window or sunporchextension and the main house portion is a single integral element, asdistinguished from separate connected elements such as have beenheretofore employed in structures embodying main and auxiliary sectionssuch as referred to. The employment of an integral floor element for thestructure eliminates weaknesses and increases rigidity so as toeliminate to a considerable degree commercial objections to paper dollhouses and like toy structures.

As indicated, the outside of the structure may be suitably printed orembossed to illustrate windows, doors and the like for ornamentalpurposes. Likewise, the interior may be appropriately ornamented torepresent suitable fittings, et cetera.

Changes in the described structure may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined byreference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadlyas possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. A toy structure having main and auxiliary house parts, the latterconstituting a reduced size portion projecting from the former, saidstructure comprising a floor member for the main house part, anextension integral with said floor member and constituting a floor forsaid auxiliary house part, said extension having at least one edgeextending from. a point intermediate the ends, of an edge of said floormember, and main and auxiliary house part walls, independent of thefloor member and detachably secured against the edges thereof, saidfloor member being spaced upwardly from the plane of the lower edges ofthe wall member.

2'. A toy structure comprising a flat paperboardmember having a pair ofside edges extending angularly relative to` each other, said memberbeing provided with fold lines spaced inwardly from. said edges forfacilitating folding of marginal portions of said member toHarige-forming position on the member, one of said marginal portionshaving an end extension adapted to overlap the adjacent end of the othermarginal portion when said portions are folded to said ange-formingposition, said overlapping extension having an opening ther-ein, atongue projecting from said overlapped end and entering said opening forlocking said marginal portions in said ange-forming position, and wallspositioned against the faces of said flanges and connected to saidmember.

3. A toy structure comprising a flat paperboard member having a pair ofside edges eX- tending angularly relative to each other, said memberbeing provided with fold lines spaced inwardly from said edges forfacilitating folding of marginal portions of said member to ange-formingposition on the member, one of said marginal portions having an endextension adapted to overlap the adjacent end of the other marginalportion when said portions are folded to said flange-forming position,said overlapping extension having an opening therein, a tongueprojecting from said overlapped end and entering said opening forlocking said marginal portions in said flange-forming position, and awall part positioned against the face of the folded marginal portionhaving said opening, said wall part being provided with an openingadapted to receive said tongue for attaching said wall thereto.

4. A toy structure comprising a flat paperboard member having a pair ofside edges extending angularly relative to each other, said member beingprovided with fold lines spaced inwardly from said .edges forfacilitating folding of marginal portions of said member to ange-formingposition on the member, one of said marginal portions having an endextension adapted to overlap the adjacent end of the other marginalportion when said portions are folded to said ange-forming position,said overlapping extension having an opening therein, a tongueprojecting from said overlapped end and entering said opening forlocking said marginal portions n said flange-forming position, a wallpart positioned against the face of the folded marginal portion havingsaid end tongue, said wall part being provided with an edgewiseextending tongue projecting over the end extension of said other foldedmarginal portion and engaging the upper edge thereof, and another wallpart positioned against the face of said other folded marginal portionand having an opening for receiving said end tongue and another openingfor receiving said edge tongue of the first-mentioned wall part.

5. A toy structure comprising a oor member, a wall member disposedadjacent an edge of said oor member, and a second wall member extendingoutwardly from said first-mentioned wall member and having an edgedisposed adjacent the face of said inst-mentioned wall member, means formaintaining said floor member and first-mentioned wall member insubstantially fixed relationship, and means for anchoring said secondWall member to the face comprising a tongue extending inwardly from saidedge of the second wall member, said rst-mentioned wall member having anopening therethrough for receiving said tongue, said tongue and openingbeing so positioned that said tongue engages said floor member.

6. A toy structure comprising a flat paperboard member having a pair ofside edges extending angularly relative to each other, said member beingprovided with fold lines spaced inwardly from said angularly relatededges for facilitating folding o1 marginal portions of said member toange-forming position thereon, one of said marginal portions having anend extension projecting beyond the plane of the other when folded tosaid flange-forming position, a wall member adapted to be positionedagainst one of said flanges, connecting means for maintaining said wallmember in assembled relation to said anges and said flanges in foldedflange position relative to the normal plane of' said member, saidconnecting means including at least in part said ange extension, andsaid extension being so shaped as to represent a selected object fordecorative or like purposes substantially as described.

7. A toy structure of the class described comprising membersinterconnected through the agency of interiittng tongues and openings,and means for concealing such connections comprising a partsubstantially enclosing said connecting means and itself secured inplace by engagement with said connecting means.

8. A toy structure comprising members interconnected through the agencyof intertting tongues and openings, and means for concealing suchconnections comprising an independent part foldable to form asubstatially tubular element enclosing said connections, and means fordetachably securing said part in place on the structure.

9. A toy structure of the class described comprising membersinterconnected through the agency of intertting tongues and openings,and means attached to the structure for concealing said interttingtongues and openings.

DONALD M. WARREN.

